Proper brushing of the teeth is very important for oral hygiene but it is often difficult for the brusher to know whether or not he is brushing correctly. Furthermore, especially for children, it is difficult to provide an incentive to brush frequently and properly.
Similarly, brushing hair, particularly long hair, is often a chore since brushing requires many strokes, although the rate is not important.
There are known toothbrushes having built-in sound generators. These toothbrushes generally include sound generators inside an enlarged handle, and an on-off switch on the handle, where the toothbrush is held by the user. These toothbrushes are characterized by a switch which is turned on manually when the toothbrush is gripped by the user. In many, the handles are too large to fit into standard toothbrush holders. An alternative toothbrush is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,762 to Scheiner. This toothbrush includes a handle of standard dimensions, and a switch having a push-button which extends from an opening in the proximate end of the toothbrush handle. All these devices play melodies according to whether the switch has been manually turned on or off, without taking into account the quality of brushing.
Accordingly, it would be very desirable to have a toothbrush or hairbrush which indicates when brushing is at a correct rhythm and force, which provides audible feedback to the user during brushing, and which rewards the brusher for frequent, correct brushing of the proper duration via special feedback.